WWII veteran to receive POW Medal

Apr. 14, 2014 - 11:22AM
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LAKEWOOD, COLO. — An Arvada man held captive by the Nazis during World War II is being awarded a Prisoner of War Medal.

Ninety-one-year-old Frank Dechant will receive the medal from congressman Ed Perlmutter during a ceremony in Lakewood Monday.

Perlmutter’s office says Dechant and his unit were captured in December 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. They were liberated in April 1945 after a two-month, forced march ahead of the Soviet advance into Germany.

Dechant was born to a farming family in Antonino, Kansas which moved to Denver during the Dust Bowl. After the Army, he married, had four sons and worked for Golden Motors Ford.

He was awarded seven medals, including a Bronze Star, right after leaving the service. The POW Medal wasn’t created until 1985.